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Michael February (Kommetjie) is the top seed for the Buffalo City Surf Pro at Nahoon Reef in East London which starts on Saturday Photo: Ian Thurtell

Second Stop in City Surf Series Attracts Top SA and International Entries

World class professional surfing returns to East London for the first time in a decade when the inaugural Buffalo City Surf Pro presented by Reef Wetsuits runs from Saturday to Easter Monday, 15-17 April, in the challenging waves of Nahoon Reef.

An exceptional field of 128 of South African and international surfers will battle for titles, a share of the R80,000 prize-purse and points on the regional and international rankings in the World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) rated events for Men and Women and Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) events for 18-and-under Men and Women.

The Buffalo City Surf Pro is the second of five events in the City Surf Series, an exciting new tour that started in Port Elizabeth last weekend and after East London will also visit Durban and Cape Town.

Michael February (Kommetjie), currently No. 35 on the QS rankings, is the top seed for QS1,000 rated Men’s event this weekend, and will be going all out to capitalise on his confidence boosting victory at the last stop to climb higher even higher on the international rankings and extend his early lead in the chase for 2017 WSL Africa Men’s title.

Australian Tayla Hanak heads the line-up for the QS1,000 Women’s event and in her first visit to East London faces strong opposition from former WSL Championship Tour (CT) competitor Nikita Robb (East London), whose knowledge of the waves of Nahoon Reef is unsurpassed in the 24 strong entry.

The likes of Emma Smith (Jeffreys Bay), Nicole Pallet (La Lucia) and Teal Hogg (uMhlanga) will be determined to pocket as many points as possible so they can qualify for the big international women’s events overseas, while the effervescent Crystal Hulett (St Francis Bay) will be hoping to repeat her title winning achievement last weekend and hold onto the Skullcandy striped vest worn by the rankings leader.

With points on offer towards the selection of the WSL Africa squad that is invited to compete in the World Junior Championships in Australia next January, the JQS1,000 men’s and Women’s events will be fiercely contested.

Sophie Bell (Salt Rock) will be fully committed to re-establishing her dominance of the junior women’s rankings but 13 year-old Durban phenom Kayla Nogueira has been on a roll, taking out five titles in recent weeks, and currently tops the rankings. Kirsty McGillivray (Jeffreys Bay) and Taghiti Gericke (Wilderness) complete the top four seeds.

Organisers will meet at Nahoon Reef early on Saturday morning and the decision on when to get the contest underway will be made at 7.30 am. The 16 heats in the Men’s event will be first up, followed by the eight heats in Round 1 of the Junior Men. Round 1 of the Women’s event is on standby for a possible start later in the day. The event champions will be crowned on Monday afternoon.

An outreach programme conducted by Surfing South Africa (SSA) at Nahoon Beach on Easter Monday morning will feature 60 young surfers from the Unstressed Surf School in Cintsa and Waves 4 Change. The participants will be involved in beach activities, water coaching, a tag team contest, beach relays and an Easter egg hunt with all participants receiving breakfast, lunch and a commemorative medal.

The programme will be run by SSA Development Officer Danielle Johnson and her Swot team to highlight transformation projects in the Buffalo City district and is supported by the Buffalo City Surf Pro, Reef Wetsuits, Volkswagen and the National Lotteries Commission.

Live scoring, results, images, news and more for the Buffalo City Surf Pro presented by Reef Wetsuits will be available at WorldSurfLeague.com and on the WSL App, with highlights on the WSL QS Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL), formerly the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a truly global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.

The WSL has been championing the world’s best surfing since 1976, running global events across the Samsung Galaxy Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours, the Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Championships, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The League possesses a deep appreciation for the sport’s rich heritage while promoting progression, innovation and performance at the highest levels.

Showcasing the world’s best surfing on its digital platform at WorldSurfLeague.com as well as the free WSL app, the WSL has a passionate global fan base with millions tuning in to see world-class athletes like Mick Fanning, John John Florence, Stephanie Gilmore, Greg Long, Gabriel Medina, Carissa Moore, Makua Rothman, Kelly Slater, Adriano de Souza and more battle on the most unpredictable and dynamic field of play of any sport in the world.

About Surfing South Africa
Surfing South Africa is recognised by the Department of Sport and Recreation as the national governing body for the sport. Surfing South Africa is a member of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Michael February (Kommetjie) flew to victory in the QS1,000 Men’s event at the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro in Port Elizabeth on Sunday Photo: Ian Thurtell

The inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro presented by Billabong wrapped up three days of high performance surfing action on Sunday with Michael February (Kommetjie) and Crystal Hulett (St Francis Bay) taking out the Men’s and Women’s titles respectively while Jake Elkington (Kommetjie) and Kayla Nogueira (Durban) clinched the Junior men’s and Women’s crowns.

The first internationally rated World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) events to be staged in Port Elizabeth enjoyed contestable and testing surf for the three days and featured 128 competitors, including South Africa’s top exponents and entrants from the USA and Australia.

February demonstrated why he is country’s highest ranked QS surfer by dominating throughout, leaving his opponents in combination situations and needing to replace their best two scores at the end of heats, including the Men’s final. Surfing with unparalleled speed, power and flow, the 23 year-old Capetonian effortlessly connected long rides all the way to the beach, cruising over flat sections and performing powerful manoeuvres when ever the opportunity presented itself.

Fellow QS campaigner Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) kept pace for the first half of the 25 minute final, but an excellent 8.67 by February late in the heat left Lightfoot, third placed Jarred Veldhuis (Kommetjie) and fourth placed Beyrick de Vries, the 2016 WSL Africa champion, all requiring 16.01 points for victory.

“Super happy with that result. I haven’t won an event for a couple of years and that’s my first QS1,000 event title,” said February. “The final was tricky, the waves were really far out and you couldn’t hear what the situation was, but after I’d had two decent rides I stayed close to Dylan (Lightfoot) and Jarred (Veldhuis) and used my priority to keep them off the good ones.

“It’s good to be home and be able to pick up the maximum points available and move up the rankings. I’m feeling positive and motivated for the rest of the events here and to wearing the rankings leader’s jersey next week.”

February pocketed R10,000 and 1,000 coveted rankings points that will see him vault from 91st into the top 40 on the QS leaderboard and he will wear the Skullcandy zebra striped ranking leader’s vest at the next event on the City Surf Series in East London next weekend.

Hulett, who scraped into the women’s final after losing half of one of her scores when she incurred an interference penalty in her semifinal match-up. But the youngest competitor in the last four went on to defeat her more experienced rivals, posting the highest score of the encounter, a 7.67 out of 10, before adding a mid-range 4.27 to clinch her first WSL QS event title.

“That’s my first big win and It’s a kind of weird feeling,” said Hulett. “To compete against my idols and people I look up to like Faye (Zoetmulder) and to match them is amazing. I’ve done the hardest training ever and this win has given me so much confidence. And I’m really pleased about the amount of support for women’s surfing – it’s wonderful!”

The Junior Men’s final was dominated by the Elkington brothers from Kommetjie, with younger brother Max leading until the last minute when Jake rdoe the highest scoing wave of the final to grab victory.

“I got that 7.23 in the last 30 seconds and I was really stoked to overtake Max and get my first WSL Junior title,’ said Jake. ‘I gives me the early lead in the WSL Africa junior rankings and will hopefully help me to secure a place in the squad for the WSL World Junior Championships in Australia in January. The win has really given me confidence and I’m looking forward to East London next weekend.

Nogueira has been on roll for the past three weeks with the 13 year-old Durbanite surfing to victories winning both the U14 and U16 titles on successive weekends before capturing the18-and-under title today. She stuck to her strategy and made sure that she caught to waves that gave her the opportunity to score a pair of five point rides.

“My first JQS win felt really good and hopefully I’ll be able to do it again,” said Nogueira. “I don’t feel intimidated by the older girls, I’ve surfed against them a couple of times before, but this a real boost to my confidence and it feels really great.”

The winners were presented with their trophies and cheques by Athol Trollip, the Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Athol Trollip. The Mayor also presented special commemorative trophies to the 2016 WSL Africa champions Beyrick de Vries (uMhlanga), Faye Zoetmulder (Cape St Francis), Adin Masencamp (Strand) and Sophie Bell (Salt Rock).

More than 50 excited youngsters had the time of their lives at the event today as part of a Surfing South Africa Outreach initiative that saw them participate in a Tag Team surfing event and a coaching clinic, as well as relay races and an Easter egg hunt at the beach.

Run by SSA Development Officer Danielle Johnson and SSA Event coordinator Shirley Fairall, the participants came from Missionvale, Motherwell and Jeffreys Bay and were supported by Volkswagen and the National Lotteries Commission.

Results, images and video footage from the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro will be available on www.WorldSurfLeague.com and on the WSL App, with highlights on the WSL QS Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL), formerly the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a truly global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.

The WSL has been championing the world’s best surfing since 1976, running global events across the Samsung Galaxy Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours, the Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Championships, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The League possesses a deep appreciation for the sport’s rich heritage while promoting progression, innovation and performance at the highest levels.

Showcasing the world’s best surfing on its digital platform at WorldSurfLeague.com as well as the free WSL app, the WSL has a passionate global fan base with millions tuning in to see world-class athletes like Mick Fanning, John John Florence, Stephanie Gilmore, Greg Long, Gabriel Medina, Carissa Moore, Makua Rothman, Kelly Slater, Adriano de Souza and more battle on the most unpredictable and dynamic field of play of any sport in the world.

About Surfing South Africa
Surfing South Africa is recognised governing body for all disciplines of surfriding in South Africa by the Department of Sport and Recreation. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).

Luke Slijpen (Cape Town) dominated the first two rounds of the Junior Men’s event at the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro in Port Elizabeth on Saturday Photo: Ian Thurtell

Men, Women and Junior Men Post Excellent Scores at the Pipe in Port Elizabeth

Michael February produced a sensational performance at the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro presented by Billabong in Port Elizabeth today, starting his quarterfinal heat with an excellent ride of 9.57 and then backing that up with the first perfect 10 point ride of the event for a near perfect heat tally of 19.57 out of 20.

Greeted by wild conditions with 1 to 2 metre waves breaking 150 metres offshore and onshore winds, organisers delayed this morning’s start. This paid off with conditions cleaning up as the tide filled in and two rounds of Men, Women and Junior Men were completed,

While February (Kommetjie), the top seed in the QS1,000 rated Men’s event, was the day’s star performer, Women’s top seed Nicole Pallet (La Lucia) also stood out by delivering two rides in the excellent category (over 8 points out of 10) for a 16.50 heat total, while Luke Slijpen (Cape Town was the top points scorer among the Junior Men.

“I started the heat super far out and that first one just popped up next me,” said February of his quarterfinal. “I did a couple of turns and the wave kept delivering so I rode it all the way to the beach. It was a long paddle back but I heard that I got a nine something, so I just needed decent backup. Then I went left on a wave that allowed me three big turns and was stoked to be awarded the10!”

February was joined in tomorrow’s first semifinal by fellow Kommetjie residents Jordy Maree and Jarred Veldhuis, along with Brandon Jackson (Durban North). The second semifinal will be determined after the remaining two quarterfinals are completed on Sunday morning.

Pallet, who spent a month in Australia earlier this year competing in WSL events, overcame her nervousness about the conditions and the ability of her opponents to record the best return in the Women’s event by getting an early mid-range score before racking up her pair of eight plus rides.

“I was pretty nervous before the long paddle out because the waves were really messy and I had Australian Tayla Hanak in my heat,” said Pallet. “I had one ride and then my coach Quintin Jones put me in good spot and I caught that right that gave me an 8.33. Then Sophie (Bell) just missed one and I caught it further in and I managed to get an 8.17.

“I’m so glad that the girls are going to have seven events in South Africa this year. It’s great being able to earn points here at home so we can qualify for the big events overseas. And I’m really excited about tomorrow.”

The Junior Men’s event was dominated by Slijpen who delivered the two highest scores of 14.83 in Round 1 and 15.10 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis. Others to shine in the JQS1,000 rated event for surfers 18-and-under included Koby Oberholzer (Warner Beach), Calvin Goor (Salt Rock) and Sebastian Williams (Durban).

The opening round of the Junior Women’s event was held over to Sunday and will be run before the semifinals and finals of all the events sees the champions crowned at the event site.

The Mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Athol Trollip, will present the winners with their trophies and cheques. He will also present special commemorative trophies to the 2016 WSL Africa champions Beyrick de Vries (uMhlanga), Faye Zoetmulder, Adin Masencamp (Strand) and Sophie Bell (Salt Rock).

Organisers will meet at Pollock Beach at 7.15 am local time on Sunday to make a call on when to get the contest underway, with a 7.30 am start anticipated.

Live scoring, results, photos and video footage will be available on www.WorldSurfLeague.com and on the WSL App, with highlights on the WSL QS Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL), formerly the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a truly global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.

The WSL has been championing the world’s best surfing since 1976, running global events across the Samsung Galaxy Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours, the Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Championships, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The League possesses a deep appreciation for the sport’s rich heritage while promoting progression, innovation and performance at the highest levels.

Showcasing the world’s best surfing on its digital platform at WorldSurfLeague.com as well as the free WSL app, the WSL has a passionate global fan base with millions tuning in to see world-class athletes like Mick Fanning, John John Florence, Stephanie Gilmore, Greg Long, Gabriel Medina, Carissa Moore, Makua Rothman, Kelly Slater, Adriano de Souza and more battle on the most unpredictable and dynamic field of play of any sport in the world.

About Surfing South Africa
Surfing South Africa is recognised governing body for all disciplines of surfriding in South Africa by the Department of Sport and Recreation. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
Issued on behalf of:

Jordy Maree (Kommetjie) takes to the air as he advanced to the last 16 in the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro in Port Elizabeth Photo: Ian Thurtell

Men’s Round 1 and Half of Round 2 Completed at The Pipe in Port Elizabeth

The top seeded surfers dominated proceedings in today’s opening rounds of the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro presented by Billabong, the first of eight events on the South African Qualifying Series (QS) leg that will crown the 2017 WSL Africa champions in September.

Organisers completed Round 1 and four of eight heats of Round 2 in the QS1,000 rated men’s event which was held in lumpy, wind affected but highly contestable waves that saw the 64-man field reduced to just 32.

Top seed Michael February (Kommetjie) got his campaign underway with a hard fought second place in the first heat of the day, but made amends in Round 2 where he posted the highest scores for a single ride (9.33 out of 10) and for his heat total of 16.0 out of 20.

“That first heat was a bit sketchy, but it woke me up,” said February. “In the second heat I found that proper wave at the start and was happy with a couple of my backup rides. It’s great to back at Pipe where I competed in five Grommet Games about 10 years ago.”

Beyrick de Vries (uMhlanga), the 2016 WSL Africa champion and No. 2 seed, was wearing the Skullcandy WSL Africa rankings leader’s zebra striped vest in the first event of the year. De Vries made no mistakes in his opener, racking up an excellent 8.0 and a 6.33 to advance and he will be in the first heat when Round 2 of the Men’s event recommences.

Only one of the seven internationally ranked surfers is still in the event. James Tyler (USA) is yet to surf his Round 2 heat while his compatriots Braden Jones and Austin Neumann progressed to Round 2 but were eliminated there.

Other standouts on the opening day included Jason Harris (Durban) and Kommetjie residents Jordy Maree and Jarred Veldhuis, all three of whom won their Round 3 match-ups to reach the last 16.

The men’s QS1,000 rated Nelson Mandela Surf Pro presented by Billabong offers a total prize-purse of R30,000 and coveted points on the regional and international rankings lists.

Saturday’s second day will see action in the QS1,000 women’s event plus the JQS1,000 men’s and women’s events for surfers aged 18 and under. Organisers will meet at Pollock Beach at 7.15 am local time to make a call on when to get the contest underway, with a 7.30 am start anticipated.

Live scoring, results, photos and video footage will be available on www.WorldSurfLeague.com and on the WSL App, with highlights on the WSL QS Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL), formerly the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a truly global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.

The WSL has been championing the world’s best surfing since 1976, running global events across the Samsung Galaxy Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours, the Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Championships, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The League possesses a deep appreciation for the sport’s rich heritage while promoting progression, innovation and performance at the highest levels.

Showcasing the world’s best surfing on its digital platform at WorldSurfLeague.com as well as the free WSL app, the WSL has a passionate global fan base with millions tuning in to see world-class athletes like Mick Fanning, John John Florence, Stephanie Gilmore, Greg Long, Gabriel Medina, Carissa Moore, Makua Rothman, Kelly Slater, Adriano de Souza and more battle on the most unpredictable and dynamic field of play of any sport in the world.

About Surfing South Africa
Surfing South Africa is recognised governing body for all disciplines of surfriding in South Africa by the Department of Sport and Recreation. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
Issued on behalf of:

Joshe Faulkner (Jeffreys Bay) will be competing in both the men’s and junior men’s events in the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro in Port Elizabeth Photo: Grant Beck

The most exciting and lucrative series of professional surfing events ever staged in South Africa will be launched in Port Elizabeth on Friday when the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro presented by Billabong hosts a huge field of local and international competitors at The Pipe on Pollock Beach.

Comprising World Surf League (WSL) Qualifying Series (QS) rated events for men and women, plus Junior Qualifying Series (JQS) events for men and women aged 18-and-under, the Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro offers a total prize-pool of R80,000 plus points counting towards international and regional rankings lists.

The historic event has notched up a slew of landmarks including being the first professional surfing contest to be staged in the city; the first of five similar tournaments in the inaugural City Surf Series, which will also visit East London, Durban (twice) and Cape Town; the first of four JQS events in the 20th annual Billabong Junior Series and the first event counting towards the crowning of the 2017 WSL Africa regional champions in September.

The QS1,000 rated men’s event features a 64 man field including the cream of South Africa’s surfers. The top seed is Michael February (Kommetjie), currently the country’s highest QS ranked surfer at No. 65, followed by 2016 WSL Africa champion Beyrick de Vries (uMhlanga), Dylan Lightfoot (Jeffreys Bay) and Braden Jones (USA).

The men will be battling for a share of the R30,000 on offer with the winner pocketing R10,000 and 1,000 precious ranking points on the 659 man WSL QS leaderboard.

The rankings points accumulated in the JQS events determine the top four men and top two women who will represent WSL Africa at the annual WSL World Junior Championships in Australia in January.

The three day event starts with two rounds of men’s competition on Friday, followed by the earlier rounds of the women’s and junior events on Saturday and concludes with the champions being crowned on Sunday.

Outreach programs designed to foster and encourage newcomers to surfing will be run during the event by Surfing South Africa, the national controlling body for the sport.

Live scoring, results, photos and video footage will be available on www.World SurfLeague.com and on the WSL App, with highlights on the WSL QS Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Surf Pro presented by Billabong is supported by Volkswagen, Corona and the City of Port Elizabeth.

ENDS

About the World Surf League
The World Surf League (WSL), formerly the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), is dedicated to celebrating the world’s best surfing on the world’s best waves through a variety of best-in-class audience platforms. The League, headquartered in Santa Monica, is a truly global sport with regional offices in Australasia, Africa, North America, South America, Hawaii, Japan and Europe.

The WSL has been championing the world’s best surfing since 1976, running global events across the Samsung Galaxy Men’s and Women’s Championship Tours, the Big Wave Tour, Qualifying Series, Junior and Longboard Championships, as well as the WSL Big Wave Awards. The League possesses a deep appreciation for the sport’s rich heritage while promoting progression, innovation and performance at the highest levels.

Showcasing the world’s best surfing on its digital platform at WorldSurfLeague.com as well as the free WSL app, the WSL has a passionate global fan base with millions tuning in to see world-class athletes like Mick Fanning, John John Florence, Stephanie Gilmore, Greg Long, Gabriel Medina, Carissa Moore, Makua Rothman, Kelly Slater, Adriano de Souza and more battle on the most unpredictable and dynamic field of play of any sport in the world.

About Surfing South Africa
Surfing South Africa is recognised governing body for all disciplines of surfriding in South Africa by the Department of Sport and Recreation. SSA is a member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA).
Issued on behalf of: